Grand Blanc West Middle School teacher dies months after retirement

GRAND BLANC, MI – Just nine days into her retirement, a
former Grand Blanc West Middle Schoolteacher
received devastating news.

Carol Negri, 64, of Flint was diagnosed with pancreaticcancer.

Instead of enjoying her first fall off as a retired teacher,
she lost her battle to cancer on Aug 25.

For the past two months, it was daughter Gina Davis of
Swartz Creek who was helping her mom as she underwent chemotherapy treatment. Davis, a
nurse at McLaren-Flint, said she would visit her mom during her breaks in the
hospital room and crawl into the bed to lay with her.

"I'm going to miss her," Davis said. "Every little thing,
because she was a part of my everyday life."

Negri taught at St. Mary Queen of Angels in Swartz Creek
before she was hired into the Grand Blanc School district in 1992. She taught
language arts at Grand Blanc West Middle School before she retired earlier this
summer.

Grand Blanc Superintendent Norman Abdella, who also taught
with Negri at St. Mary, praised Negri.

"She served with distinction and honor as a wonderful teacher
in the language arts program," Abdella said. "She is certainly worthy of our
respect and our gratitude."

Negri was known for her witty and clever sense of humor. She
was intuitive, tough in the classroom, passionate about teaching and language
arts and had a habit of taking students under her wing.

She instilled in her daughters a need to be independent and
strong-willed women. She was also a huge
support to the family. One of Negri's favorite quotes was, "A woman is like a
teabag, you never know how strong she is until you get her in hot water" – something that perfectly described
herself, her family said.

"She was just rock solid. She was always there for us. If you
were her friend, she was there for you. She would do what she could to help
you," said daughter Angela Regimbal of Grand Blanc.

She enjoyed her daily yoga, reading and spending time with
her family. She was supportive and would cheer on her children and grandchildren
in sports – driving hours to games and sitting in the cold to watch them.

This wasn't Negri's first bout with cancer. And after the initial
doubt when she was diagnosed, her family said she tried to fight it, even though the treatment was hard on her.

"I said to her, you don't have to do this for us. And she
said, 'I don't want to die, so I'm doing this,'" Davis said.

Negri's daughter Cara Negri of California said her mom had a
stomachache near the end of the school year, but did not know that cancer was
behind it.

With retirement ahead, Negri wanted to volunteer, learn to
be a yoga instructor and be a "full-time grandma."

In July, the whole family rented a cabin Up North and spent
time together – a memory that her daughters will cherish.

Negri is survived by her husband of 41 years, John; four
daughters, Lisa (Steve) Davis, Angela (Zach) Regimbal, Cara Negri (Filip), Gina
(Josh) Davis; and more family. She was preceded in death by her parents; and
brother, James Kehoe.

A memorial Mass will take place at 11 a.m. Aug. 30 at St.
Robert Catholic Church. Fr. Roy Horning will officiate. Cremation has taken
place.

Family will receive friends from 2 to 8 p.m. Thursday at
Rossell Funeral Home and 10 a.m. until the time of the Mass, Friday at the
church.

Dana DeFever can be reached at 810-429-3919 or ddefever@mlive.com.
You can also follow her on Twitter @DanaDeFever or
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